Tuesday, December 04, 2012

OMG: US behind European protest measures over E-1

The Israeli ambassadors to Britain, France, Sweden, Australia others have been summoned by their host countries to protest Israel's plans to build new housing in 'east' Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. And yet, the ambassador to the United States has not been summoned, nor has the ambassador in any country that Israel would likely brush off (e.g. Turkey). Now, we know why. The Hussein Obama administration is orchestrating all of the Europeans' moves.

The United States was behind the summoning
of Israeli ambassadors by several European nations, Israeli sources
with close ties to US administration officials said Monday.

"The European move is essentially an American move," one official said. "The Brits asked the Americans how to act."

"The Americans and
Brits believe that building in area E1 would essentially terminate the
peace process," an Israeli official explained. Earlier this week,
Britain, France, Spain, Sweden and Denmark summoned the Israeli
ambassadors in their capitals to express deep disapproval of the plan to
erect 3,000 more homes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

"The Europeans got the green light to respond with extreme
measures and the US in the meantime decided not to impose economic
sanctions on the Palestinians in response to their UN bid," the official
said. "The Americans decided to bolster Abu Mazen (Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas) and push for a resumption of peace talks."

I find it astounding that building in E-1 (which we're not doing yet, and which will take years to ) would 'essentially terminate the peace process' while the 'Palestinians' essentially gutting the Oslo accords by going to the UN in the first place is given a pass.

More importantly, where the heck is Congress? Why aren't they moving to sanction the 'Palestinians' as is required by US law?

Following the wave of
international criticism, the prime minister's bureau said that Israel
will continue to pursue its vital interests "even in the face of
international pressure. The decision will not be changed."

It was further stated that "if the Palestinians continue to act unilaterally – Israel will act accordingly."

...

"The US regards the
E1 construction plan as an even bigger slap in the face than what
happened during Biden's visit," the Israeli official remarked.

"The Americans are at a difficult position having backed Israel at
the UN against the Palestinian bid. They did not expect this from
Israel. Administration officials feel that Netanyahu is humiliating them
and making a fool out of them by creating such a diplomatic crisis."

Repeat after me: Actions have consequences. If the Americans were reacting to this in a logical way, they would be saying to the 'Palestinians' 'you've gutted Oslo, now go deal with the mess you made.' Of course, that would never happen in a Hussein Obama (or Clinton) administration, but that's how George W. Bush would have dealt with them.

Moreover, the Obama administration doesn't seem to get that most Israelis back Netanyahu on this. We don't want to roll over and play dead. It's interesting to see the Obama administration comparing this to Vice President Biden and Ramat Shlomo. Shortly after that incident, Netanyahu was in the US for other reasons and asked to see Obama at the White House. That was the famous incident in which Netanyahu entered the White House through a service entrance, had no photo opportunity with the President (except for the White House photographer) and had no media present. Obama served cookies. Remember?

That incident brought an outpouring of sympathy for Netanyahu and contempt for Obama. Netanyahu's poll numbers went up after that incident, because people here saw him as standing up to a hostile US President. And yes, that could happen again, because most Israelis understand that Maaleh Adumim - a city with over 40,000 Jews on the outskirts of Jerusalem - is part of our national consensus.

Israeli state officials
estimate that Europe will take even tougher measures if additional
construction is approved. The steps may include banning goods, reducing
the scope of trade and placing limitations on scientific collaborations.
Further construction may also result in the expansion of the
de-legitimization campaign.

As if they don't do all those things already. Well, if they want to boycott Israel, let them go right ahead.

Let's go to the videotape.

Nevertheless some
Foreign Ministry officials believe that Europe fails to understand the
Israeli public mindset. "They don't understand public opinion. What the
Americans can do, Europe can't."

That's true. But the truth is, our government needs to stop talking about this and to stop giving the 'Palestinians' ideas:

Meanwhile, senior
state officials criticized Netanyahu over his response to the
Palestinians' UN move. "The prime minister's bureau raised the issue of
the International Court of Justice and because of that the Palestinians
decided to take their bid further. Abu Mazen will now seek membership in
all of the UN agencies."

One state official claimed that to anger the Europeans would be a
strategic mistake at this point, in light of Europe's support of Israel
during Operation Pillar of Defense. "Europe and the US decided to teach
us a lesson on the peace talks and the settlement issue. Support during
Pillar of Defense has enabled Europe to start putting pressure on
Israel."

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About Me

I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 12 to 33 years and eight grandchildren. Three of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com